


Dancing Under the Stars

by minamiren



Category: Free!
Genre: Arabian AU, Dancing, M/M, Rating might go up, if people want it to, nagirei - Freeform, one creepy guy, reigisa - Freeform, you're gonna love it i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2014-08-29
Packaged: 2018-02-14 11:43:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2190411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minamiren/pseuds/minamiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa is a dancer, performing for a few weeks at parties until he moves on to the next city. Rei is a rich merchant and a scholar, who is hosting a party. Once they meet, things will change- for better or for worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fountains and Chains

**Author's Note:**

> An Arabian AU in which Nagisa is a travelling dancer and Rei is a scholar, and through a series of events the two meet and slowly become closer. Hope you enjoy!

If you asked Nagisa one thing that he loved most in the world, his one answer would be ‘dance.’

He absolutely loved to dance- whether it was public, group, alone, with a partner; whether it was fancy or simple; whether it was slow or fast- he loved it all. He loved the feeling of moving his feet to the rhythm of the music, trailing his sash over his head with the flowing movements of his arms. He couldn’t sing, no- but he could most certainly dance.

His whole family danced for a living, actually. He and his three sisters were taught by his parents. Since even the moment he could walk his sisters were holding his hands, teaching him steps to the simpler dances that he would learn.

As he grew up, he continued do dance. In his opinion, dancing was something that he could do to portray his very emotions- it was something that he could pour his entire soul into. Even after his parents passed away from the sickness that had swept through the peninsula, he continued to dance.

He traveled as he danced, too. Along with his three sisters, they went from city to city, dancing and playing music for anyone who could afford to see them.

Of course, it wasn’t _all_ fun and games- but then again, very little was.

“Nagisa! Put those beads _back_ in the box and get it loaded onto the cart! We should have left five minutes ago!”

Nagisa sighs at the sound of his Nanako’s voice, and reluctantly drops his favorite blue beads- the ones he wears in his hair as he dances one of his most complicated dances- into a small wooden box that contained the rest of his valuables. He places the box into a small chest containing everything he owned (other than what he was wearing), and hoists it into the cart.

“Nana-chan, none of you even have your stuff in the cart yet!” he complains, crossing his arms as he sits on top of his chest of belongings. He was wearing the most casual clothing he could at the moment- a pale colored cloth over his head to block out the sun, a white vest and loose, light-green pants.

He would love to wear his dancing outfit all the time, but his sisters had expressly forbid him to- they couldn’t let them wear out. He always loved wearing it, though. He loved the beads, the jingle of the bangles as he moved his arms, the red vest and pale green head covering. He always regretted having to pack it back up into his trunk whenever they traveled.

Which they happened to be doing right now. Once his three sisters got their things loaded onto the cart, Nanako (his eldest sister, and also the one who had taken care of them ever since their parents died) would hook up their two camels to the cart, and they would take turns riding in it as they traveled.

“Where are we even _going?”_ Naomi asks exasperatedly, trudging along next to one of the camels.

“Closest city next to the capital,” Nanako answers smoothly. “Two days walk from here. Called Iwatobi.”

Nagisa’s eyes widen as he considers the implications of this. “So there will be a lot of rich people there, right?” he asks, voice quickly growing overexcited. “Where we can dance at their parties, and have good food, and buy prettier dancing clothes?”

Nanako laughs, reaches over and ruffles Nagisa’s unruly hair. “Something along those lines,” she replies.

Nagisa turns forward and continues on, a new bounce in his step (not that it wasn’t already bouncy enough). Sure, they may only be there for a week or two, but it was always fun to visit anywhere near the capital- especially new places!

Nagisa couldn’t wait.

-~- 

When they arrive, they always dance in the square to advertise. This one is nicer than most- it has a gorgeous fountain in the center, something that tends to be a bit less common in places like this considering the fact that it tends to be very dry.

Nagisa, Nanako, and Naomi all dance together on the first day, with Natsuki sitting on the side of the fountain, singing and playing out the beat on the drum. They wear nothing but their normal clothes, with promises of more elaborate dances and beautiful outfits if they’re hired.

It’s less than an hour before they’re approached, and then one more until it happens again, and Nagisa grins as he splashes his face with water from the fountain on their break- they’ll probably have a party every night booked for their dancing, with their luck. And considering their skills, their price isn’t exactly cheap.

At the end of the day, Nanako congratulates them all by giving them a special treat as they camp out next to their cart and camels. They all split a mango bought at a nearby stand, sweet and juicy and delicious.

“Looks like we’re going to get a pretty good pay here,” Natsuki comments, slurping the juice from her fingers. Naomi bops her on the head.

“Quit being so gross,” she says. “But yeah, we probably will. I can’t wait.”

Nagisa laughs a bit, but he’s secretly excited as well. He loves to dance. He loves being watched, too- the amazed looks that crowds will give him as he moves in ways that they could only dream of. He’s given dirty looks as well, and creepy ones too, but he tries to block them all out in order to just concentrate on the satisfaction of a job well done.

-~- 

The next day, they’re free until they have to dance at a party from sundown to daybreak. Nagisa’s sisters sleep in- they’d rather not be tired before dancing- but Nagisa himself goes out to explore the city.

It’s not so much a city as a central town. Shops lined the streets, with vendors selling everything that you could imagine. There was a man selling watches and jewels next to a woman selling apples.

Something catches his eye as he looks around, and his hand is drawn to his purse hung on his hip. He draws closer to one of the vendors, and with his small allowance, Nagisa purchases a thin gold chain to wear around his neck as he dances. It glints in the light, and would make a clear and pretty chime as it clinked against his beaded necklace.

For the next few hours he continues on like this. He travels around, greeting people happily and looking around at vendor’s wares. He makes sure to talk to them all, knowing  
how good it could be to have at least one acquaintance in a town.

It’s about noon when it happens. The sun has risen high in the sky, and Nagisa is doing this little skip-jump-walk thing around the fountain when someone grabs his wrist.

He skids to a stop, then turns, grin fading slightly as he comes face to face with a large man; large in both senses of the word. He was fat and tall, and could easily overpower 

Nagisa due to sheer weight if something happened.

Not that Nagisa was expecting anything to happen. Despite not liking the look in the man’s eyes, he had early on become especially adept at talking his way out of difficult situations. He opens his mouth to start said process, but is interrupted.

“Well, what have we here?” the man says smoothly, leaning down to study Nagisa’s face more clearly. Nagisa grimaces a bit and tries to take a step back, but the tightening of the man’s hold on his wrist easily told him that this wasn’t going to be easy. “Haven’t seen you around before.”

“Hazuki Nagisa,” he replies, burgundy eyes turning up to meet the man’s beady black ones. “Is there something you want?”

The man laughs and shakes his head, then straightens up and starts to walk off, tugging a struggling Nagisa behind him. “Nothing in particular. Just saw you dancing the other day, and I thought you could perform a little dance for me…” he trails off, glances back at the small blonde. “Privately.”

Nagisa’s eyes widen, and he starts to struggle more. He knows there’s no point in being loud- no one would come to his aid in an unfamiliar city, and it was easy to see the way women and men alike shied away from this man. He obviously had a bad reputation.

Nagisa bites him.

He bites him right on the wrist, making the man cry out in pain, then turn on Nagisa with a growl. “You little piece of-“ He raises his hand and brings it down, hard.  
Nagisa flinches, closing his eyes, but the slap never comes.

“I suggest you not bother this poor dancer. Harassing him in public is in no way beautiful. If you wish to have his services, attend the party you were invited to tonight,” a cold voice says, and the short blonde slowly opens his eyes.

He’s greeted with the sight of a dark blue-haired man holding the wrist of the other back from slapping him. He’s tall and thin, with red glasses. Nagisa blinks. Maybe a sort of scholar…? There’s no other reason Nagisa would expect him to have glasses. They weren’t that necessary in any other profession- not to mention the fact that they were  
extremely expensive.

The large man scowls at the tall one, then yanks his hand away. “Fine, I will.” He turns to Nagisa, offering him a chillingly sweet smile. “Think about the request, Nagisa-kun,” he says in a low voice before stalking off.

Nagisa blinks, shivering, before turning and bowing earnestly towards his savior. “Thank you very much!” he exclaims.

The mysterious man shakes his head, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. “No need to thank me,” he replies. “I’m not the type of man to just sit by as someone else mistreats another person the way he was to you. Ah, may I have your name please? Mine is Rei. Ryugazaki Rei.” He gives Nagisa a bow of his head.

Nagisa straightens up, grinning widely. At least he’s gained one trustworthy friend today! “Hazuki Nagisa,” he replies, offering his hand. “Pleased to meet you!”

The man in front of him looked older- not by much, but maybe a few years. He hesitates for a second before taking Nagisa’s hand, giving it a smooth shake before releasing it.  
“You’ll be performing at the party tonight, correct? I saw you dance yesterday and employed your services for tonight. You and…cousins?”

“Sisters,” Nagisa corrects. “But yeah! We’ll be at your party, Rei-chan!” It was only now that Nagisa recognized the man in front of him (who was currently cringing over the ‘chan’ honorific). He had been one of the first to approach Nanako for employment, and had offered a large amount of money for their entertainment.

Rei coughs, cutting off Nagisa’s thoughts and grabbing his attention again. “I’m sorry to say that the man we just ran into will also be attending. He’s important, despite the fact that he has an abhorrent personality, and it would be extremely impolite not to invite him. I’ll be there as well though, of course, so you won’t have to bother worrying. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thank you!” Nagisa exclaims, fully meaning his words as he bows quickly. He glances up, and his eyes widen as he sees how far the sun has already progressed through the sky. 

“Sorry, Rei-chan, but I have to go get some rest and get ready now,” he says, bowing one more time before popping up and running off, waving enthusiastically behind him.

‘Rei-chan’ stands there and watches as the blonde runs off, finding himself looking forward to the tediousness of the coming party much more than he had been the hour previous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been my first reigisa fanfiction, so I hope I did these characters justice! My tumblr url is [minamiren](http://minamiren.tumblr.com) on tumblr if anyone wants to find me- I'll be there to answer questions, take requests, and update quicker than on here, as well as post more content! If not, comments, kudos, bookmarks, etc are all appreciated! Thank you :)


	2. Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Already back with chapter two! Hope you enjoy :)

“NAGISA! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING THAT?!”

Nagisa falls back from his heels onto the floor, clutching his belly laughing as the pale pink veil from he had been wearing is snatched from him by Natsuki.

“I was just trying it on,” Nagisa whines, though jokingly. He had known it was hers- he just couldn’t resist teasing her!

Almost immediately after his rear had hit the ground, he receives a _whop!_ on the back of the head by Nanako. “Get your ass off the ground, Nagi. You’re getting your _bedlah*_ dirty, and I have to wash that thing too much as it is.”

Nagisa pushes himself back onto the balls of his feet obligingly- for once. He knew how nasty his oldest sister could get when it came to dressing right before a dance.

And yes, it always did tend to be this unorganized and messy. Beads are tossed from one person to another, scarves are hunted down and parts of the _bedlah_ they wear tend to easily become dirty or worn. It’s extremely difficult to be careful and frantic at the same time, but they had somehow managed to pull this off over and over again.

Nagisa stands up as he ties his belt onto his hip, making sure it was tied tight enough not to fall down. This was certainly one of the times that he appreciated his smaller, more feminine figure. He loved wearing the belt- the beads and coins soft tinkling and the pretty colors of the fringe always excited him. He never really got tired of wearing his outfit.

Finally, after much pulling, tugging, shouting, struggling, and almost-crying, the four are dressed. Nagisa twirls once, laughing brightly as he feels his clothes floating around him.

“Aw, quit it, twerp,” Nanako says, though she’s grinning. It’s obvious she finds him endearing- all of them did. They all completely adored their little brother, even though he managed to be a huge pain at times.

“Fine,” Nagisa huffs, then follows Nanako as she sets off for where they’re supposed to be- she had received instructions earlier in the day.

“You excited?” Nagisa can’t help but to ask Naomi after a moment of silence, which he tended to not do well with. She tended to get nervous just before she danced- though every time she did, it never failed to be beautiful.

She shrugs a bit. “Yeah. I’m getting better about the whole nervous thing,” she says, offering a grimace-slash-smile. Nagisa reaches over and squeezes her hand before letting go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrive, the party has already started. This is all according to plan- it’s incredibly awkward to dance when there’s no one there to watch.

Rei is there to greet the four of them- his glasses are still on, but he’s dressed much more nicely than he had been before. It wasn’t until   
Natsuki elbows him in the side does he notice that he’s been staring inappropriately, and hasn’t even been listening to the man’s words.

“-there’s a place for you to dance inside, on the stage,” he was saying, ushering them inside before closing the doors behind them.

The large, double wooden doors. And it’s _then_ that Nagisa realizes just how rich Rei must be. Because holy shit, he lives in a mansion. It couldn’t be anything less, considering the size, the lush red carpet under his bare feet, and just…how amazing everything looked.  
He was staring again, but at least this time his sisters were, too.

Rei coughs, and Nagisa looks over to see that he’s…blushing? “Ah, ahem, I inherited this place from my uncle. My father died when he was young and he took me in. I’ve taken care of it ever since the sickness got him.”

Nagisa bites his lip. “I’m sorry,” he offers, but Rei just waves him off.

“No need, I just felt that you were justified to have an explanation. Now, down that hall and through the double doors is where the party is located. You’re welcome to the stage. No one else is using it.” He had changed the subject rather thoroughly, but none of the dancers commented on it.

Instead, they went through the doors and were amazed.

It was a splendor of color- there wasn’t anyone dancing (no music to dance to, it looked like they were to be the night’s main attraction), but everyone was chatting, talking, moving about. The clothes were colorful. Beautiful, expensive clothes that none of the Hazukis could ever hope to have. The carpet was just as soft as in the entryway, and the soft glow of gas lights permeated throughout the room.

“Thank you, Rei-ch-“ Nagisa starts, smiling widely, but suddenly trails off as he realizes that Rei has completely disappeared.

He shrugs and easily discards this thought, eagerly following his siblings up to the stage. They climb on and Natsuki sits on the edge, her drum in between her legs.

She hits it once, and almost immediately the crowd is silenced, turned to look at them. The other three Hazukis take their places on stage- Natsuko in the center with her arms crossed and head bowed, and Naomi and Nagisa facing outward, mirrored poses with their arms in the air, heads down and one foot pointing forward.

Nagisa takes a deep breath, letting calm run through his body, and Natsuki hits four beats.

He and Naomi begin to move as if they were a photograph come to life, twisting their wrists in a way that makes the people struggle to follow their movements, clapping in time with the beat as they begin to make steps, their beads and bangles jangling, adding to the music.

Nanako comes to life as well four counts later, and the dance really begins.

For the next half hour straight, Nagisa is lost in the beat. He’s lost doing song after song- even after Nanako and Naomi step off the stage to break, he unties the sash around his waist, starting some of his solo dances.

He smiles as he dances, feet bringing him around the stage as his sash trails behind him. He jumps down from the stage without being able to helping it, laughing as he prances through the crowd, who clap and cheer as he does so.

He catches a flash of blue and red, and he almost falters as he finally sees Rei out of the corner of his eyes.

The blue-haired man was staring as if in rapture, and Nagisa could have sworn that he saw the word ‘beautiful’ being mouthed by him.

But then the beat of the music swung him away again, and he was leaping back onto the stage for one last dance before he sweeps into a bow, sash wrapped around each of his wrists and fluttering behind him as he bows.

He steps off the stage to loud applause, which is silenced again as Naomi and Nanako climb back onto the stage. They’ll dance together for a while until Nagisa takes one of their places.

Nagisa travels through the crowd, his short stature making it easy to get to the back of the room, stopping at something he had taken particular note of earlier- food.

And not just any food, either. Small, delicate tarts and sweets, along with meat. Nanako had told him that they already had permission to eat, and Nagisa fully intended on taking Rei up on this particular kindness.

Five minutes later, he has a plate piled with at least one of every sweet that he had seen, completely forgoing anything minutely healthy. Why should he? He never got to eat things such as these with his lifestyle unless they were offered at parties and they had permission to eat, and these sweets were expensive.

Nagisa is standing off to the side, watching his sisters dance with a large smile on his face before he hears a throat clear next to him. He jumps a bit, squeaking before he turns to see a man leaning against the wall next to him. Nagisa didn’t recognize him.

“They’re really good, aren’t they?” the man starts, then looks over at Nagisa. “You were good too, by the way. I could tell Rei-san really enjoyed your dancing.”

Nagisa blushes a little, grinning widely. “Thank you!” he says eagerly, then falters. “Uh, who…?”

The man starts, then laughs a little, blushing as well- though in his case out of embarrassment. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Makoto. Makoto Tachibana.”

He stretches out his hand, and Nagisa quickly takes it and shakes it. “You know Rei-chan?” he asks curiously, and Makoto raises an eyebrow at the honorific, but doesn’t say anything about it. Nagisa had the type of countenance of one who could easily get away with things such as that.

“Actually, yes,” he says, taking a sip of the glass in his hand. “Haruka- another man- and I both are guards he always hires,” he says simply, and Nagisa frowns.

“Guards? But why would Rei-chan need guards? He’s a scholar, right?” he asks, and Makoto grins a little at this.

“He really looks like the type, doesn’t he?” he agrees, finishing up with his glass before continuing. “But no. He inherited both his father’s and uncle’s trading businesses- and they’re pretty widespread ones. I go with the merchandise, guarding it until it reaches the city it’s heading to. There’s rarely any trouble, but you can never be too careful. Not to mention Rei-san is extremely good to us. He pays us more than enough, and even invites us to dinner and to get together often.”

He tilts his head to the side as he seems to remember something. “However, if I’m correct, he really does like to read and learn. I believe he has a study somewhere in this mansion, and he’s been known to disappear into it for hours at a time.”

Nagisa laughs at this- even though he had barely seen Rei before, he could easily imagine the man doing that.

“How old is he?” Nagisa asks curiously. “He’s awfully young to be managing such a large business, isn’t he?”

Makoto shrugs. “He does it efficiently enough that his age doesn’t really matter. He’s somewhere around twenty-four though, if I remember correctly. Only five years older than Nagisa. His original impression of just a bit older actually happened to be correct.

Nagisa has just opened his mouth to ask another question when someone again clears their throat, and the two males talking turn to see Rei right in front of them.

“Makoto, I’m terribly sorry for the intrusion, but if you don’t mind…?” Rei asks, pushing his glasses up. Nagisa tilts his head- maybe a sort of nervous habit?

Makoto nods quickly, bidding Nagisa a quick goodbye before disappearing back into the crowd of people, presumably to watch his sisters dance.

Rei assumes Makoto’s position against the wall, though his posture is clearly stiffer, more tense than Makoto had been. He seemed to be contemplating something, and hard, so Nagisa decided to break the tension.

“Did you enjoy my dancing?” he asks, then corrects himself. “And my sisters, of course.”

Rei startles a bit, looking over at him before shaking his head slowly. “It was absolutely beautiful,” he says decisively. “Dance is a beautiful art- one I have never been able to manage, but always loved to watch,” he says smoothly, and Nagisa grins.

“I’m glad you think so!” he says excitedly. “I love dancing. It’s like my entire body is free whenever I get to spin around-!” He raises his arms and turns a quick circle with a laugh directly after he says this, as if to prove his point.

Rei watches with a bit of a smile, though it disappears as soon as Nagisa’s eyes fall back onto his face. “Where have you been staying, out of curiosity? Possibly the nearby inn?” Rei asks, though the words sound a bit too rehearsed to be pure curiosity.

“Oh no, just next to our cart,” Nagisa says quickly, waving off the man’s words. “An inn would be too expensive to pay for, and we like keeping near our posessions.”

Rei’s eyes widen. “So where do you sleep??” he asks, voice slightly raised. “The _ground?”_

“Well actually, yeah,” Nagisa says with a bit of a grin. “It’s fun! It’s like camping, except constantly. And it’s warm still now at night, so it’s super comfortable!”

Rei shakes his head. “That’s not beautiful _at all!”_ he exclaims. “It’s terrible! Bad for your back, and your clothes, and what happens when it gets cold? It’s bound to sooner or later!”

Nagisa shrugs. “We have a lot of blankets and four people for body heat?” he offers, but Rei seems not to be listening.

“No, you need somewhere to stay,” Rei insists, barely hesitating before he continues. “Stay here, with me.”

Nagisa’s eyes widen, and his jaw drops. “Rei-chan,” he starts, but Rei cuts him off.

“Not for free, of course!” he says quickly, and Nagisa bites his lip. They really couldn’t afford to pay. “But for a. Different price. Your services. In particular.”

Nagisa swallows as the previous man’s words come back into his mind, and the same thing must have happened to Rei, because he suddenly corrects himself. “Not like that!” he adds hurriedly. “I want you to. Dance. For me. One or two nights you stay. I’ll feed all four of you three meals a day, and you can keep your camels in the stables and your things in a room. If you would like, you could bring your things here now…?”

Nagisa is staring, openmouthed. Did this man seriously just invite them a place to stay?

“Hazuki-san, are you-“

Rei’s inquiring voice is suddenly caught off as Nagisa bounds forward, hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much, Rei-chan! I will do my best to dance for you!” he exclaims, before bounding off to tell his sisters the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is! Follow me at [minamiren](http://minamiren.tumblr.com) for more fics earlier- I also answer questions, take requests, etc. Likes, comments, bookmarks, etc are all appreciated, and see you next time!
> 
> Also *bedlah- literally meaning ‘suit’ in Arabic. It’s the signature dancing outfit that pops into your head when you think ‘arabian dancing’


End file.
